Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 64, No. 4, pp. 885–897, 2013 doi:10.1093/jxb/ers367 10.1093/jxb/ers367 This paper is available online free of all access charges (see http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/open_access.html for further details)
Research paper
Concerted changes in N and C primary metabolism in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) under water restriction Iker Aranjuelo1,2,3,*, Guillaume Tcherkez4, Gemma Molero2,5, Françoise Gilard4, Jean-Christophe Avice3 and Salvador Nogués2 1
Instituto de Agrobiotecnología (IdAB), Universidad Pública de Navarra-CSIC-Gobierno de Navarra, Campus de Arrosadía, E-31192Mutilva Baja, Spain 2 Unitat de Fisologia Vegetal, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain 3 INRA, UMR INRA/UCBN 950 Ecophysiologie Végétale, Agronomie et Nutritions NCS, IFR 146 ICORE, Institut de Biologie Fondamentale et Appliquée, Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, F-14032 Caen, France 4 Institut de Biologie des Plantes, CNRS UMR 8618-Batiment 630, Université Paris Sud 11, 91405 Orsay cedex, France 5 International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), El Batán, Texcoco, CP 56130, Mexico *To whom correspondence should be adddressed. E-mail:
[email protected] Received 22 November 2012; Revised 22 November 2012; Accepted 4 December 2012
Abstract Although the mechanisms of nodule N2 fixation in legumes are now well documented, some uncertainty remains on the metabolic consequences of water deficit. In most cases, little consideration is given to other organs and, therefore, the coordinated changes in metabolism in leaves, roots, and nodules are not well known. Here, the effect of water restriction on exclusively N2-fixing alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants was investigated, and proteomic, metabolomic, and physiological analyses were carried out. It is shown that the inhibition of nitrogenase activity caused by water restriction was accompanied by concerted alterations in metabolic pathways in nodules, leaves, and roots. The data suggest that nodule metabolism and metabolic exchange between plant organs nearly reached homeostasis in asparagine synthesis and partitioning, as well as the N demand from leaves. Typically, there was (i) a stimulation of the anaplerotic pathway to sustain the provision of C skeletons for amino acid (e.g. glutamate and proline) synthesis; (ii) re-allocation of glycolytic products to alanine and serine/glycine; and (iii) subtle changes in redox metabolites suggesting the implication of a slight oxidative stress. Furthermore, water restriction caused little change in both photosynthetic efficiency and respiratory cost of N2 fixation by nodules. In other words, the results suggest that under water stress, nodule metabolism follows a compromise between physiological imperatives (N demand, oxidative stress) and the lower input to sustain catabolism. Key words: Alfalfa, C/N, drought, metabolomic, nodule, proteomic.
Introduction It is widely accepted that drought causes a major restriction of N2 fixation efficiency in nodules of legumes (Serraj and Sinclair, 1996; Serraj et al., 1997; González et al., 1998; Larrainzar et al., 2007; Naya et al., 2007; Larrainzar et al., 2009). In fact, it is roughly estimated that water restriction in legume plantations may cause a reduction of up to 17 Gt N year–1 of global N2 fixation (Burns and Hardy, 1975).
Several mechanisms responsible for the decrease in nodule activity under water-limited conditions have been proposed in the literature (see, for example, Naya et al., 2007; Aranjuelo et al., 2011), and all involve nitrogenase (Nase; the enzyme responsible for N2 conversion to ammonia) as the key target of water restriction. First, a build-up of amino acid (or other nitrogenous compounds) pools in nodules may cause
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886 | Aranjuelo et al. a feedback inhibition on Nase activity (Serraj et al., 1999, 2001; King and Purcell. 2005). This effect on amino acid content has been described recently in alfalfa nodules in a previous study (Aranjuelo et al., 2011). However, despite the accumulation of glutamine and asparagine, the nature and the intrinsic mechanisms of such an inhibition are unknown. Secondly, Nase activity may be limited by ATP availability due to the restriction of bacteroid respiration (González et al., 1998; Arrese-Igor et al., 1999; Erice et al., 2011). The latter is believed to be caused by a lower carbon input in nodules, which in turn results from the lower photosynthetic activity of source organs (leaves) and a decrease in sucrose synthase (which cleaves sucrose into fructose-6-phosphate and UDPglucose) activity in nodules. Indeed, nodule metabolism has been described (Vance and Heichel, 1991) to be conditioned to carbon (sugars) provision from leaves since the transfer of photosynthates from leaves to nodules is very rapid (Voisin et al., 2003) and represents up to 50% of total photosynthetic CO2 fixation. Furthermore, ~60% of sugars delivered to nodules are consumed by respiration to sustain ATP synthesis (which is in turn needed by the Nase-catalysed reaction). Thirdly, both the increase in O2 permeability of the nodule surface and the decrease in the nodule respiration rate may increase the dissolved O2 mole fraction in bacteroids, thereby inhibiting Nase and possibly causing oxidative stress (Rubio et al., 2002; Naya et al., 2007; Becana et al., 2010). In fact, drought stress induces the expression of genes involved in detoxification of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as those encoding Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase and cytosolic glutathione reductase (Naya et al., 2007). Taken as a whole, published data suggest that changes in nodule respiration rate and primary carbon metabolism seem to be at the heart of the physiological response of nodules to drought. Nevertheless, a better understanding of these metabolic effects of water restriction would require an integrated investigation of metabolites (metabolomics) and enzymatic activities (activitomics). Under drought conditions, many metabolites, such as hexoses, are believed simply to accumulate (Muller et al., 2011, and references therein). Further, minor sugars (e.g. trehalose and mannitol), amino acids (e.g. proline), and organic acids (e.g. malate, fumarate, and isocitrate) also appear to accumulate under water restriction. Although recent publications include a more detailed metabolomic characterization (Larrainzar et al., 2009; Aranjuelo et al., 2011; Kang et al., 2011), metabolite patterns and their coordinated changes between plant compartments are unclear. Furthermore, within nodules, only Nase activity is usually determined, with no further information about the effect of drought on other nodule proteins and enzymatic activities. Thus, the influence of drought on nodule metabolic pathways and associated changes in metabolite exchange between nodules and other plant organs (which may also cause some metabolic pools to vary) are still uncertain. However, the metabolism of other organs is likely to be critical to sustain nodule metabolism under water restriction: (i) in a previous study conducted with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) plants, leaf metabolism revealed by proteomics, and metabolic profiles appeared to be tightly linked to nodules (Aranjuelo et al.,
2011). Furthermore, the data obtained suggest that a decrease in shoot N demand was involved in the accumulation of nodule amino acids and a decrease in Nase activity. In fact, (ii) root metabolism is also likely to influence nodule activity since roots are a major storage organ in which the remobilization of sugars and nitrogenous compound is crucial to regrowth and stress survival (Avice et al., 1996; Volenec et al., 1996). As a working hypothesis, and according to what was observed in previous studies, it was expected that proteins involved in N2 fixation and assimilation would be inhibited by drought. Furthermore, nodule respiration, together with the oxidative stress machinery, was expected to be affected by drought. As an aid to clarifying these aspects of nodule biology, the effect of drought on nodule proteins and metabolites in alfalfa was examined using proteomic and metabolomic analyses, respectively. In addition, the metabolism, the photosynthetic rate, and respiration of leaves, as well as root metabolism and respiration were followed. The results suggest that changes in protein abundance, catabolic pathways, and amino acid synthesis occur in nodules and that the decrease in N2 fixation activity is homeostatic to match both nodule respiration and leaf photosynthesis.
Materials and methods Experimental design The experiment was conducted with N2-fixing (nodulating) alfalfa (Magali variety) grown in 7 litre plastic pots filled with silica sand (0.7 mm). One plant per pot and eight plants per treatment were sown in this study. Plants were grown in controlled-environment chambers (Conviron E15, Controlled Environments Limited, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) at 25/15 °C (day/night) with a photoperiod of 14 h at 400 µmol m–2 s–1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD). During the second, third, and fourth week after sowing, all the plants were inoculated (once per week) with Sinorhizobium meliloti strain 102F78. To ensure that the sole N source was N2 fixed by nodules, the plants were irrigated with an N-free Hoagland nutrient solution (Hoagland and Arnon, 1950). The plants were watered twice a week with the nutrient solution and also with deionized water so as to avoid salt accumulation in pots. After 3 months, one half of the plants were maintained under optimal water availability conditions while the other half were subjected to drought by stopping watering. Suppression of irrigation was maintained for 7 d. Water withholding for 7 d induced a severe water stress in the plants (Naya et al., 2007). After 7 d, the water status and Nase activity were determined and gas exchange measurements were carried out. Then the different organs were harvested, and nodules, root, and leaf samples were immediately frozen with liquid nitrogen and stored at –80 °C for the further proteomic and metabolomic analyses. Nitrogenase activity Nase activity was measured in detached nodules using the acetylene (C2H2) reduction method (Hardy et al., 1973). Use of this method has been debated (Minchin et al., 1994; Vessey, 1994). Acetylene has been suggested to induce a decline in Nase activity by decreasing the resistance to O2 diffusion into the infected zone of the nodules, thereby inhibiting Nase activity (Witty et al., 1984). However, as observed by Minchin et al. (1994), in cases where acetylene is greatly modified, the results might be acceptable. Nodules were enclosed in a 1 litre glass flask into which 100 ml of C2H2 was added. The flask was incubated at room temperature for 10 min, before the Nase decrease induced by exposure to excess acetylene. Afterwards, eight samples of 5 ml were withdrawn from the flask and the ethylene content in
C and N metabolism in droughted alfalfa | 887 the samples was quantified using a Fractovap 4200 (Carbo Erba Strumentazione, Milan, Italy) gas chromatograph equipped with a hydrogen flame ionization detector and a Poropak R30/100 column (2 m×1/8 id). Analyses were carried out at 90 °C (45 °°C detector and injector) with He as a carrier gas at a flow rate of 25×ml min–1. This protocol, which gives acetylene reduction activity, is believed to provide a good estimate of relative Nase activity (Streeter, 2003; King and Purcell, 2005). Gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence determinations Gas exchange measurements were carried out with the LiCor 6400 gas exchange portable photosynthesis system (LI-COR, Lincoln, NE, USA) on healthy and fully expanded apical leaves under conditions similar to growth conditions (400 µmol m−2 s−1 PPFD, 25 °C, 380 µmol mol–1 CO2, 21% O2). Photosynthetic CO2 assimilation (A) was determined using equations developed by von Caemmerer and Farquhar (1981). Stomatal conductance (gs) was determined as described by Harley et al. (1992). Nodule and root respiration were determined using an external cuvette connected in parallel to the sample air hose of the LiCor 6400 (Aranjuelo et al., 2009). Mesophyll conductance (gm) was determined according to Pons et al. (2009). The intracellular CO2 mole fraction (Cc) was determined according to Long and Bernacchi (2003). Plants were dark-adapted for 50 min before dark respiration (RD) measurements (Nogués et al., 2004). Fluorescence parameters were measured with a fluorescence chamber (LFC 6400–40; LI-COR) coupled to the Li-Cor 6400. Light-adapted variables included steady-state fluorescence yield F, maximal fluorescence F’m, variable fluorescence F’v, and the quantum yield of photosystem II photochemistry ΦPSII=(F’m–F)/F’m. Leaves were then dark-adapted for 20 min and Fo (minimum fluorescence), Fm (maximum fluorescence), Fv (variable fluorescence (Fm– Fo), and Fv/Fm [maximum quantum yield of PSII photochemistry, (Fm–Fo)/Fm] were measured. Proteomic analyses Nodule samples (200 mg fresh weight) were ground in a mortar using liquid nitrogen and re-suspended in 2 ml of cold acetone containing 10% trichloroacetic acid (TCA). After centrifugation at 16 000 g for 3 min at 4 °C, the supernatant was discarded and the pellet was rinsed successively with methanol, acetone, and phenol solutions as previously described by Wang et al. (2003). The pellet was stored at –20 °C or immediately re-suspended in 200 µl of R2D2 rehydratation buffer [5 M urea, 2 M thiourea, 2% 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl) dimethyl-ammonio]-1-propanesulphonate, 2% N-decyl-N,N-dimethyl-3ammonio-1-propanesulphonate, 20 mM dithiothreitol, 5 mM TRIS (2-carboxyethyl) phosphine, 0.5% IPG buffer (GE Healthcare, Saclay, France), pH 4–7] (Mechin et al., 2003). Total soluble protein (TSP) concentration was determined with the method of Bradford (1976) using bovine serum albumin as a standard. Two-dimensional electrophoresis was performed as described by Aranjuelo et al. (2011). Gels from four independent biological replicates were used, and the analysis of gels was performed as previously described by Aranjuelo et al. (2011). After detection of protein spots using silver staining (Aranjuelo et al., 2011), pictures of the 2-D gels were acquired with the ProXPRESS 2D proteomic Imaging System and analysed using Phoretix 2-D Expression Software v2004 (Nonlinear Dynamics, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK). The molecular mass (Mr) and isoelectric point (pI) were calculated using Progenesis SameSpots software (Nonlinear Dynamics) calibrated with commercial molecular mass standards (precision protein standards pre-stained, Bio-Rad) run in a separate marker lane on the 2-D gel. Proteins were identified by ESI-LC MS/MS (electrospray ionization-liquid chromatograpy tandem mass spectrometry). Excised spots were washed several times with water and dried for a few minutes. Trypsin digestion was performed overnight with a dedicated automated system (MultiPROBE II, PerkinElmer). Gel fragments were subsequently incubated twice for 15 min in a
H2O/CH3CN solution to allow the extraction of peptides. Peptide extracts were then dried and dissolved in a starting buffer, made up of 3% CH3CN and 0.1% HCOOH in water, for chromatographic elution. Peptides were enriched and separated using a lab-on-achip technology (Agilent, Massy, France) and analysed with an on-line XCT mass spectrometer (Agilent). The fragmentation data were interpreted using the Data Analysis program (version 3.4, Bruker Daltonic, Billerica, USA). For protein identification, tandem mass spectrometry peak lists were extracted and compared with the protein database using the MASCOT Daemon (Matrix Science, London, UK) search engine as previously described by Desclos et al. (2008). Once the proteins were identified, their presumed biological function was determined according to Bevan et al. (1998). Metabolomic analyses Gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) was performed on a LECO Pegasus III with an Agilent 6890N GC system and an Agilent 7683 automatic liquid sampler. The column was an RTX-5 w/integra-Guard (30 m×0.25mm id + 10 m integrated guard column) (Restek, Evry, France). Leaf, root, and nodule samples (20 mg of powder from freeze-dried material) were ground in a mortar in liquid nitrogen, and then in 2 ml of 80% methanol, to which ribitol (100 µmol l–1) was added as an internal standard. Extracts were transferred to 2 ml Eppendorf tubes, and centrifuged at 10 000 g and 4 °C for 15 min. Supernatants were transferred to fresh tubes and centrifuged again. Several aliquots of each extract (0.1, 3× 0.2, and 0.4 ml) were spin-dried under vacuum and stored at –80 °C until analysis. Methoxyamine was dissolved in pyridine at 20 mg ml–1, and 50 µl of this mixture was used to dissolve the dry sample (from the 0.2 ml aliquot, see above). Following vigorous mixing, samples were incubated for 90 min at 30 °C with shaking. A 80 µl aliquot of N-methyl-N(trimethyl-silyl)trifluoroacetamide (MSTFA) was then added, and the mixture was vortexed, and incubated for 30 min at 37 °C with shaking. The derivatization mix was then incubated for 2 h at room temperature. Before loading into the GC autosampler, a mix of a series of eight alkanes (chain lengths: C10–C36) was included. Analyses were performed by injecting 1 µl in splitless mode at 230 °C as injector temperature. The chromatographic separation was performed in helium as a gas carrier at 1 ml min–1 in the constant flow mode and using a temperature ramp ranging from 80 °C to 330 °C between 2 min and 18 min, followed by 6 min at 330 °C. The total run time per injection was 30 min. Ionization was by electron impact at 70 eV, and the MS acquisition rate was 20 spectra s–1 over the m/z range 80–500. Peak identity was established by comparison of the fragmentation pattern with MS available databases (NIST), using a match cut-off criterion of 700/1000, and by retention index (RI) using the alkane series as retention standards. The integration of peaks was performed using the LECO Pegasus software. Because automated peak integration was occasionally erroneous, integration was verified manually for each compound in all analyses. Statistical analyses Data were examined by one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) (Fig. 1). Differences were considered to be significant when P
